Coconut Cup #4 – Oleta

Ok, Ok. So I got 1st Place out of 1 in the Women’s XC1 class today. Oleta is always a brutal course…and you could tell by how many racers were missing. Every time you ride those trails more than 20 mi, your whole body aches. It’s really hard to get a flow on the tight twisty singletrack. The trails are loaded with roots and rocks. And lots of loose rocks at that, with a bunch of pine needles in there too, just what my Specialized Renegade tires love. Yeah, right! I should’ve switched to a beefier tire. Regardless, I showed up, raced, and man, I had a good time! Since I was the only one in my cat, I got to ride with the class before me, Grand Master Expert. I had blast chasing Tom Pike (Ellsworth) for 4 laps around the park, counting the number of seconds I was behind him until I finally caught up in the 4th lap. Oleta is his home course, so he definitely gave me a run for my money and it was great. Of course my legs are aching now!

After the brutal race, I decided I wanted to suffer some more and go run the trails for another 80 min. I LOVE to run these trails. There are lots of short ups and downs and the technicality makes time fly by, just make sure to watch your foot placement, cause you can go down in a sec! I know this from lots of experience. When tired, I have to tell myself to lift my feet. Reminds me of the movie, The Cutting Edge, “Toe Pick!”